Association mapping of loci controlling genetic and environmental interaction of soybean flowering time under various photo-thermal conditions

Authors: MAO, TINGTING - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; LI, JINYU - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; WEN, ZISIANG - Michigan State University; WU, TINGTING - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; WU, CUNXIANG - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; SUN, SHI - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; JIANG, BINGJUN - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; HOU, WENSHENG - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences; LI, WENBIN - Northeast Agricultural University, China; Song, Qijian; WANG, DECHUN - Michigan State University; HAN, TIANFU - Chinese Academy Of Agricultural Sciences

Submitted to: BMC Genomics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 5/10/2017
Publication Date: 5/26/2017
Citation: Mao, T., Li, J., Wen, Z., Wu, T., Wu, C., Sun, S., Jiang, B., Hou, W., Li, W., Song, Q., Wang, D., Han, T. 2017. Association mapping of loci controlling genetic and environmental interaction of soybean flowering time under various photo-thermal conditions. Biomed Central (BMC) Genomics. 18(1):415. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12684-017-3778-3.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1186/s12684-017-3778-3

Interpretive Summary: Soybean (Glycine max) is sensitive to length of daylight time and temperature for flowering. The sensitivity determines the geographic growing zones in the United States and affects other traits such as yield, plant height, and seed quality. The genes that respond to daylight time and temperature are not well defined in soybean. This study was intended to identify genes associated with flowering time under different daylight lengths and temperatures. The genetic analysis of 91 soybean varieties planted during two growing seasons of different temperatures and under three different daylight lengths led to the identifications of genes positioned at four soybean chromosomes. Some genes on chromosome 4 contributed the greatest effect to flowering time. The results will help breeders and geneticists at government agencies, universities and companies understand the genetic basis that controls flowering time and may help these scientists improve soybean adaptability to different geographic regions.

Technical Abstract: Soybean (Glycine max) is a short day plant. Its flowering and maturity time are controlled by genetic and environmental factors, as well as their interaction. Previous studies have shown that both genetic and environmental factors, mainly photoperiod and temperature control flowering time of soybean. However, the effects of quantitative trait loci in response to photoperiod and temperature have not been well evaluated. The objectives of the current study were to identify loci associated with flowering time under different photo-thermal conditions and to determine the effects of interaction between loci and environment on soybean flowering. Six photoperiod and temperature combinations were designed by adjusting sowing dates (spring sowing and summer sowing) and day-length (12 h, 16 h and natural day-length). Association mapping was performed on 91 soybean cultivars from different maturity groups (MG000-VIII) based on 172 SSR markers and 5107 SNPs assayed with the Illumina BARCSoySNP6K iSelectBeadChip. The effects of the interaction between QTL and environments on flowering time were then analyzed using the QTXNetwork software. Large-effect loci on flowering time were detected on Gm11, Gm 16 and Gm 20. We observed more loci are expressed under the long day and natural day conditions than in the short day condition. The variation of flowering time among the soybean cultivars mainly caused the epistasis ×environment and additive × environment interactions, the Gm04_4497001 is the major locus with epistatic interaction with other loci for controlling flowering time.